Celestial Lions
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| Celestial Lions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Successors of | Imperial Fists | |
| Primarch | Rogal Dorn | |
| Homeworld | Elysium IX | |
| Strength | 95, probably 0 | |
| Specialty | Messing with the Inquisition | |
| Allegiance | Imperium | |
| Colours | Blue on Gold | |
The Celestial Lions (calling them "Celestial Loins" would be a joke in poor taste, given their tremendous losses of late) are a chapter of Space Marines in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. They are an object lesson of what happens to people who try and mess with the Inquisition without serious backup (like being a First Founding chapter).
The Celestial Lions came into conflict with the Inquisition over a planet they were pacifying. After the Lions took out the corrupt leadership and were preparing to head home, the Inquisitor in charge of the mission decided that, if the leadership had been corrupt, the entire planet was probably in league with Chaos, and that Exterminatus was the only option. The Celestial Lions were horrified, and when they could not stop the bombing, they decided to file a complaint with the High Lords of Terra. The ship bearing the delegation "mysteriously" got lost and found itself in Ork-controlled space; only the wreckage was recovered later.
The Lions didn't let up, and kept pressing for an investigation, right up to the Third War for Armageddon. The entire chapter got deployed to a single hive, and thanks to spectacularly bad intelligence they ended up outnumbered, unsupported, and taking heavy losses at every battle. Matters came to a head when "Ork snipers" managed to take out every Apothecary remaining in the Chapter, leaving them without any means to recover the gene-seed from their fallen. The remaining 95 Lions decided that they would fight off all the Orks on Armageddon or die trying, and presumably died trying. Although, it is possible (even somewhat likely) that Astartes from other chapters fighting on Armageddon might come to their aid, maybe help with Apothecary problem. The more "sane" chapters tend to stick together.
Things may be looking up for them as a new book "Blood and Fire" is about the Black Templars helping them out. Although it focuses so much the Black Templars that it's more "Black Templars with a Celestial Lions cameo". Still, it did move the Celestial Lions' plot along. "Most" of the ninety-five died in one final battle, but they managed to win it. Now they're trying to rebuild with the help of a temporary detachment of Black Templars (probably including some apothecaries), although it'll be hard considering there's less than ninety-five of them left. Then again the Invaders another Imperial Fists Successor Chapter recovered losses in less than a century despite only being 12 of them.
"Ork snipers" has since become slang for Vindicare assassins, or more generally for any implausible cover story for an Inquisition action.